Paul and Lloyd Stark, owners of the Stark Bro’s Nursery in Missouri, were looking for the perfect apple. It would be sweet and juicy. It would bring them fame and fortune, and would be crowned Queen of the Apple World! Box after box arrived from farmers who were sure they had grown the perfect apple, but none of the apples was quite right.

Meanwhile, many miles away in the hills of West Virginia, Anderson Mullins was inspecting his new farm. It had been a hot summer and everything was dry as dust. He certainly didn’texpect to find a glossy, green-leaved tree loaded with shining yellow apples.

When the Stark brothers received Mullins’s yellow apples in the spring of 1914, they were astonished—the apples tasted so crisp and delicious! Was this the apple they had been looking for? Paul Stark set out on a thousand-mile journey to see this marvelous tree for himself.

Based on real events, this story of how the Golden Delicious apple came to be is perfect for discussions on nature and growing fruits and vegetables. Kathleen Kemly’s detailed, cheerful art creates the perfect setting for Anna Egan Smucker’s charming text. The author lives in West Virginia. The illustrator lives in Washington State.